Apprentice (The Black Mage, #2)(76)

When Byron had first announced our new city was Devon I had thought it a joke. A very cruel, very pointed joke.

And then, after we returned from picking up the second-years, I'd found out he was serious.

We really were in Devon.

The capital was different. Ishir Outpost and Port Langli were important, but neither of them could compare to a regiment ten times their size. The Crown's Army trained, if it was at all possible, harder than anyone else.

The army was so large the capital had built four training arenas – a small one inside the palace walls for the King's Regiment, and three much bigger grounds outside the township where the army's soldiers, knights, and mages spent their days endlessly drilling until they were called upon for service. It was a good ten-mile ride east of the palace. The site housed an enormous armory, an equally large stable, two bathhouses, two outhouses, a giant cook's camp, and an impressive expanse of tented housing just south of its arenas.

It was the city regiment we had the highest chance of being placed in after our ascension. That was the first thing Byron had told us when we arrived the night before. It was for that reason alone I had dried my eyes, taken a deep breath, and told myself to forget the past three weeks.

I needed to toughen up quick, or risk becoming the laughingstock of not just my faction but the Crown's Army.

That, and I was done with my body's traitorous reaction any time the prince looked at me. I couldn't survive two more years of this apprenticeship if I let myself feel. I was done with misery. I would not let my learning be squandered by a broken heart.

"Ry! Ella! What took you two so long?"

I made a face at my twin. "It's been a long day." Alex was already seated on one of the outdoor tables with a mountain of noodles piled high on his plate. Beside him sat a couple of his factionmates and Loren and Ray – none of which had half the servings my brother did.

Ella's mouth hung open in shock. "You know the cook has to feed the whole camp, right?"

Alex grinned. "Only the ones that arrive on time. After that it's fair game."

I snatched a roll off his plate before he could stop me. "After that we'll just take it from you."

My twin rolled his eyes and then changed the subject. "How was casting? Loren was just telling me Byron yelled at you in front of the entire faction."

"How is that different from any other day?"

Alex didn't let it go. "What did you do?" He lowered his voice. "Please tell me you finally gave the prince the thrashing he deserves-" My brother didn't get to finish. Ella had elbowed him, hard, in the chest.

I stared at the sky in frustration. I wanted to move on. I did. But no matter how hard I tried there was always something or someone there to remind me. Alex knew this, of course. Since the ascension ceremony he had tried to keep his outrage to a minimum, but it still slipped out whenever he wasn't careful.

Alex swallowed guiltily. "Sorry, Ry."

I stood up, ready to fill up a plate of my own and leave the uncomfortable exchange behind. "Don't be. If I couldn't be imprisoned for attacking a king's son I probably would have done just that." I left the table without waiting for a response.





****





A flurry of days, and then weeks, swept past before I even had a chance to catch my breath. I quickly got used to the stifling conditions of Devon's giant training camp and the constant presence of the king's court in our early morning practices. I even got used to interpreting the stony silence of my mentor.

I avoided the prince at all costs.

Before noon every day Byron had us wielding axes. They were the weapon of choice for the Crown's Army, which meant they were what we spent the majority of time training with.

Out of all the battleaxes, we drilled with the poleaxe and halberd most. The training master was quick to point out how easily they could break enemy lines. We spent most of our days nursing wounds from slashed mail or dented armor.

When we weren't drilling on the ground we did it as cavalry. Against one partner or a cluster of them. The axes made a formidable opponent against crowds. In other words, Bryon was quick to note, their haft was ideal for mass attacks on horseback.

We learned when it was better to bludgeon and slash, when to thrust with the spike's head, and how to disarm an enemy in a slight of hand.

It was an endless cycle of drilling, but by the end of the second week I had no reservations going up against Ian. He was a formidable opponent – being the son of a blacksmith brought many advantages - and any time I had caught myself holding back I quickly received a painful reminder why that was a mistake.

Ian still wasn't talking to me. But he treated me like an equal. If he had really wanted to hurt me he could have held back in his attacks. There was nothing worse for a warrior's training than an easy teacher, and for that I was grateful.

Our mid-day lessons were spent in one of the camp's largest tents. Crown's Army meetings were held inside the palace walls but for our training purposes the tents would do. Local command – including Eve's father, Commander Audric - and even the Colored Robes made an appearance from time to time to assist with lecture. Most of the military's special strategies were released on a need-to-know basis (especially given the recent rebel activity) but the officials did give us plenty of other things to consider.